Signing The Fire Portrait

A man arrived home late one evening and his wife was furious.
"Where have you been?" she wanted to know. "Drinking with your buddies?"
"No," her husband replied. "I've been talking to Henry Kissinger."
"Oh yes? Prove it!"
The man hauled out a book by Kissinger from his briefcase, opened it up on the title page, and there was an inscription from the great man himself, dedicated to her husband by name, and thanking him for his contribution to their discussion. 

Now I can't say that a signed copy of The Fire Portrait would elicit quite the same reaction - but it does still hold true that most of us are delighted to receive a copy of a book that has been signed by the author. I've been signing many copies at the recent events in South Africa to mark the arrival of my latest novel. What a pleasure it's been! The chance to meet both new readers and old friends, to talk a little about the background and inspiration for the book, has been a real privilege. 

And often, whether I've been signing books in Africa, the UK, North America or further afield, I meet at least one person who has a special connection to the setting or theme of the book. For example... relatives of British naval officers who served on board the warships featured in The Girl from Simon's Bay, the wife of an activist highlighted in The Housemaid's Daughter, a person who grew up in a Karoo hamlet similar to Aloe Glen in The Fire Portrait...
Truth may be stranger than fiction, but not always!